Absurdism is, in a philosophical sense, the idea that there are no gods, higher purpose, or order to things. At least, that’s what Wikipedia told me. With that in mind, it’s pretty easy to find humor in the mundane. For example, consider a rubber duck. Humans tend to be highly sociable but frequently feel self-conscious; hence the substitution of human...
Continue reading...surrealism
The Funny, Crazy, and Cruel Absurdism of Fernando Arrabal
written by Laolu Ogundele Picture this: it’s Friday evening, and you’ve walked into a random street play featuring an unknown artist. You sit in one of the front rows as you prepare to enjoy a little light-hearted escapism after a busy week. But a few scenes into the play, you’re profoundly disturbed as you’re confronted with weird displays of torture,...
Continue reading...Literature is not innocent
“When one sees one of my pictures, one asks oneself this simple question, “What does it mean?” It does not mean anything, because mystery means nothing either, it is unknowable,” said Rene Magritte about his painting The Lovers. As you understand, we’ll talk about surrealism, but not about Rene Magritte in particular, although he was one of the most plagiarized artists,...
Continue reading...Urmuz – the genius beneath the boffoon
Written by Andreea Padurean (Her Goodreads Profile – here) One of the most controversial figures of the Romanian Literature – Demetru Dem or Demetrescu-Buzău, known as Urmuz, a genius who left behind a literary work of 50 pages at most. His pen name (Urmuz) was interpreted in various ways, one of the attributed meanings being ‘I amuse’. And yes, he amused...
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